S3 Tyre choices, suggestions please!!!!

B

benh999

Registered User
Joined
May 28, 2009
Messages
228
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Midlands
I've had a quick search but cannot find an answer.

I need a pair of front tyres for my S3, I usually buy 4 however the rears on mine are as new.

Fronts that need replacing are the bridgestone potenza's RE's which I've never been a big fan of(too hard compound)

The Rear Tyres are Avon ZV5's, Ive never had any experience of these tyres so has anybody ran them and how do they rate.

If the Avons are not the best then what are my best option on the front end.

Looking at roughly £100 each corner as a budget?

Suggestions please folks
 
5 mins have passed and theres no1 suggesting tyre lol i go for cheap and cheerful as i dont see the point in exspensive tyres on our crap roads (but you dont wanna hear that lol) im sure ull have atleast 4 posts in the next couple of hours lol
 
Really?...on wet British roads?

The tyres are the only thing that keep you , your passengers and 1400kg of car on the road. Personally, I wouldn't take the cheaper option in a performance car but each to his own. Grip everything in these cars. It's just my opinion...the snow's coming.
 
I'm running Michelin PS3's all round on my S3. A good all rounder in my opinion. My wife has Avon ZV5's on her E46 - I can't fault them for the money (£473 fitted - 2 x 225 andf 2 x 255)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jimgrim77
Perplexer said:
I'm running Michelin PS3's all round on my S3. A good all rounder in my opinion. My wife has Avon ZV5's on her E46 - I can't fault them for the money (£473 fitted - 2 x 225 andf 2 x 255)
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the avondale and was suprised to see they are a pretty good tyre. They're about £85-90 each and generally get good reviews. I may go with them and have 4 matching ones :-/
 
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's on both my A4 Quattros and i cant fault them. Wet grip is superb, dry grip limit i'd never even like to reach on the road tbh. The set on my avant look to be going to last about 15k too, so not that bad on wear rate either. They're also pretty good value, iirc i paid around £100 a corner in 225/45R17.

The Rainsport2's mentioend above are also pretty good, but not as good as the eagles and when i last looked there wasnt much in the price.

If your on a tighter budget, the one to consider is Hankooks S1 Evo. They won a pile of awards last year, and are around 15quid a corner cheaper than the eagles in the above size.
 
£100 a corner will get you some Maxsport RB5's.

Otherwise T1R's or FK452's are always a winner.
 
Perplexer is spot on. Michelin ps3's all the way as they are the best tyres currently available. I agree that they are expensive but that's the reason most people don't run them...affordability.
 
Falken 452's, I have to say, were disappointing...they look the part but on mine the car drove like bambi on ice compared to the ps3's. Again, just my opinion... but for the sake of £50, it's a no brainer.
 
While i dont dispute the PS3's up there amongst the best, there are a few group tests around that put the Eagles ahead of them:

2011 Auto Express Ultra High Performance Tyre Test | the online tyre guide
2011 Auto Zeitung Max Performance Tyre Test | the online tyre guide

and others show them as decidedly average:

2011 Autobild Max Performance Summer Tyre Test | the online tyre guide

So they're certainly not the only choice, nor are they categorically the "best" tyres available. Contis SC5P and some of the offerings from bridgestone and Pirelli are also up there.

I've never tried 452's, but i have driven on wet roads with T1R's and they were somewhat terrifying compared to the Eagles i have now and the Rainsports i've driven on previously.
 
Michelin Pilot Sports for me. I NEVER EVER EVER scrimp on tyres. Obviously we all have a budget but at the end of the day it's the only thing keeping you on the road, especially when it's wet & coldand the grip is low. The only other tyre I'd ever run would be Continental Sport Contacts. Haven't tried the others that are mentioned above but I've been seriously impressed by the Michelins & Contis in all conditions so that's why I stick with them. When I've had other brands on other cars in the past they were just not a patch on these.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jimgrim77
Had 35K miles out of the rear PS2's I had.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jimgrim77
Never scrimp on tyres (I reckon he's a fisherman). I have conti sport 2's on my a3 and they provide great grip in the wet and dry. Much better then the ling long wing wanli shart that were on the wheels when I got them, and before anyone starts on the 'no tread old tyre, new tyre loads of tread' i got rid of the ditch finders with about 4mm on them as they were awful, especially in the wet.
One of my favorite quotes from a mate of mine is 'These cheap tyres are alright, except they don't last as long and the car feels a bit dicey in the wet'
 
When I bought my car it had a new set of fullrun tires on them and they were definately ditch finders, think the previous owner had bought a cheap tyre and alloy deal off of the net to sell it on
Needless to say I changed them within a week for t1r's which I loved in the summer but am currently on yoko ad08's and they're brilliant but just can't see them lasting so long so now after another set of alloys and tyres for road use and will save the others for track :)

In my opinion it is not worth skimping on tyres (within reason) as it's the only thing between you and the road especially if you like to push on a bit ;-)
 
Got Falken ZE912s on my quattro. Supposedly decent all year, have only had them on for a few months but are really good in the warm dry and the cold wet so far. Worth looking at if you're going to check out FK452s.

Goodyear Eagle GSD3s and Asymmetric were useless in the snow. Great in the summer though.
 
I have Falken FK452s and have found them excellent in both the wet and dry. Had a spirited drive in the wet at the weekend and they were really sorted. I have found them as good as much more expensive tyres, a good all rounder
:thumbsup:
 
IMO its never best to put new tyres on the front, and there is absolutely no need to replace all four at the same time.

I always fit the newest (or i guess more correctly stickiest) tyres on the rear of the car, the reasoning is simple. You cant really feel what the rear tyres are doing, you can only feel what the front tyres are doing because thats what the steering wheel is connected to. If you have worn or poor tyres on the rear of the car, and excellent ones on the front, then you'll find that when pushing on mid corner the back end can step out with little or no warning. Fronts still had tonnes of grip in reserve, so the steering would have felt nice and weighty, right until the point where you end up facing the wrong way.

I know this because its happened to me quite a few years ago, and to a friend of mine only recently. Luckily neither car was damaged. In both cases, the front had reasonable tyres, and the rear had budget spec ditch finders. Only upon swapping them round and putting the ditchfinders on the front did it become apparent (via feedback from the steering wheel) how bad these tyres actually were.

This view is shared by many motoring organisations. EG a link to the AA's page on the same topic: Tyres : Car tyre safety advice - The AA
 
I normally run avon zz3`s but they seem to be in short supply so ive plumped for the Falken 452`s but ive only done 6 miles on them lol
 
Anyone tried Vredestein Sessanta Ultracs? Just put a pair on the rear of mine, seem pretty good so far
 
Any one got any history with Pirelli pzero rosso's?

About to purchase either 4 of these of 4 falken fk452's.

Just wondering if they're worth the little extra?
 
My mate put a set of those on his Fabia VRS and said they wear down seriously quick even compared to Parada Spec2`s which are soft! This is living in MK though so everything ends up wearing down quicker lol.
 
Probably wear down just as quick in Oxford too then. Oh well, all ordered up, all four £475 including fitting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: S3Zek
Just had a quote of £405 fitted and balanced for 4 brand new Kumho KU31's. Anyone with experience of these tyres. Reviews reckon they are very good but would prefer 1st hand experience. If no good then its the Continental Contact Sport 3.....x4 tyres with min 7mm tread for same price. Suggestions please guys.
 
Update..... I've fitted Bridgestone potenza s001's

Very very impressive :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Aky
tyre choices
Replies
21
Views
1K
Aky
Aky
superkarl
tyre suggestions
Replies
24
Views
2K
A3Tom
A3Tom
L
S3 Induction Choices?
Replies
14
Views
1K
Lovegroover
L
DPM
S3 Coilovers... Hmmm, Choices!
Replies
19
Views
2K
wightman
wightman
g60leigh
Revo sps settings - suggestions please.
Replies
7
Views
3K
S3 TAM
S3 TAM
Top
Back